Post-IFFM Blues
Monday, September 23...

IFFM redux.This was my 10th year at the market and 6th with a film showing in some stage of completion, so I knew this Monday Morning After feeling was coming.

It's not depression or exhaustion. It's more like a lethargy born of knowing how much nuts 'n bolts, nose-to-the-grindstone producing work needs to be done. All this follow-up with people who were so accessible last week, but now require so much time and energy to track down.

For those of you who want the blowbyblow of my IFFM experience, tally ho to the Sundance Channel, where my on-line diary is currently collecting cyberdust. Ah, fame, 'tis sooooo fleeting.

But for you time-challenged, link-averse readers, I'll simply report that the screening of my 15-minute work-in-progress sample of Home Page went quite swimmingly, considering, that is, that they started out showing another film. Ever have that actor's nightmare where the curtain goes up and you don't know your lines? Here, the audience is primed, the tape rolls... and it's the wrong one.

Instead of a humorous road movie through the World Wide Web, they're watching an arty Bergmanesque tome. Wasn'tbad, actually. Almost decided to pass it off as mine. Instead, I positioned myself strategically in the aisle so no wayward buyers could escape and madly ad-libbed for a few endlessminutes until Einstein in the projection booth cued the proper tape. When my sample finally came on I was so relieved I didn't even care that the volume was ear-splitting.

The reaction was thrilling, I'm happy to say. People who don't know the net found it intriguing and entertaining, and a group of computer geeks gave me two thumbs up, as well. Brian, the Filmmaker [www.filmmag.com] webmaster, was particularly wired. "Finally, someone got it," he raved. "That it's not about technology or cool software or who's making a shitload of money. The Web is about people connecting with people." He then offered to help in any way.

The next few days were devoted to No Borders meetings, where experienced producers sit with interested buyers in pre-arranged meetings and talk turkey. Only here we talked giblets, cause not one of the ten buyers I met with had seen the sample, either at the screening or in the video library. I know they're busy, but hey... It meant I had to take much of my allotted half-hour describing the film and how it integrates with the web site. And it means much more follow-up work now that the market's over.

Follow-up. Just the thought makes me want to crawl back to sleep.

I'm sick of this, sick of going through it again with every film. It's one of the reasons why the Web is so attractive to me. Instant world-wide distribution at very little cost. Films are so fucking expensive, and no one wants to fund docs. You spend years shooting and raising money, and if you have a serious subjectmatter, lotsa luck, buddy! Then you hunt for a distributor, and ifyou're lucky enough to get one and get some prizes, just try andget into a halfway decent theatre without being bumped at the last second by Mirimax or Sony Classics (see Paradise Lost and Synthetic Pleasures). Then you have the great pleasure ofgetting fucked by a review from the knownothings at the NY Times, where they don't get documentaries that deviate from the norm.Even if, by miracle, you don't, then you compete with Hollywood movies for an audience with no money for ads. What film do you think they're gonna plunk down $8.50 for, guys and gals?

Yeah, the Web looks very enticing from where I sit.

But I'm a filmmaker, first and foremost, and films are expensive, so you chase the dollar signs. I tried not to get caught up in it last week, tried to keep in mind that the most important thing wasgetting feedback from a live audience. And, God bless 'em, they laughed in all the right places and, universally, left wanting to see more.

It's now totally clear that I may be making a d-word on a small format camcorder, but it plays well on a big screen. It's a movie. And it clearly engages people across the spectrum.

It's critical to know that-- a real confidence builder. And now I've gotta just forget all that, forget the praise, forget about how peoplewill react, and go out and make the film.

It's just gonna take money.

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